


The Moon Underlines the Stars

by In_memory_of_sheep



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempt at Humor, Crossing Guard Koby, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fair warning I spell Koby with a K instead of a C, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Luffy basically works at chuckecheese, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:27:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25084645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_memory_of_sheep/pseuds/In_memory_of_sheep
Summary: Koby, a local crossing guard, shouldn’t have to put up with this straw hat man constantly being a nuisance during his job, much less juggle the newfound affection he has for the man on top of that.
Relationships: Coby/Monkey D. Luffy
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	The Moon Underlines the Stars

Cars flew by on the road, the wind rustling Koby’s hair as he stood near the telephone pole. He glanced at his watch as he picked up his stop sign; it was about ten minutes until the final bell rang at the elementary school. He normally was only busy during the first few hours of the early morning and afternoon, yet he was still required to stand out in the street and assist any general public until the school was officially emptied. He sighed as he adjusted his vest and started off into the street. He didn’t want to be a crossing guard, nowhere near it in fact, but he figured that he could at least get in some paid work hours before going to his classes at the university. He mostly only had night classes anyway, so he figured he could get some easy money doing a job like this. However, as Koby waited for an absolutely  _ ancient  _ woman to cross the 4 lane street, he was starting to wish he had taken that busboy position at the Baratie.

“Do you need help, miss?” He tried, the elderly lady taking what seemed like  _ decades  _ to cross barely passing him. 

“No, it’s alright dear, I can make it fine on my own.”

_ Well, it’d be nice if you can make it during my lifetime.  _ “Are you sure? I can walk you across ma’am, it’s really not an issue.”

“I insist dear, I’m alright!” Koby’s patience was dwindling as a car across the street gave an impatient honk. “Please just let me help you miss, I can take your arm-” Koby was cut off however by an indignant yowl from behind him. He leaped back just in time to see a black blur shoot by, nearly sweeping the old lady off her feet as a few other colored blurs scampered by.

“Sorry about that, excuse us!” Koby turned in the direction of the yell to see a lanky young man donning a worn straw hat, and his eyes widened as he realized he was carrying an armful of less than happy cats. They began to yowl and hiss even louder as the cars along the street honked out of impatience. The man neglected to notice the angry drivers and began to chase after the runaway felines, dropping a few in his arms during the process. Before Koby could stop him from running into the startled old woman, she had already been swept up and deposited on the sidewalk by the strawhat man’s arms. “Sorry miss, you were taking a while, and the cats don’t wait for anyone!” He sprinted away from Koby’s startled yells of “BE CAREFUL!”, pushing through pedestrians and snatching up escaped cats from the ground.

“What an exciting gentleman!” Before Koby could correct her on the given status of ‘gentleman’, the honking from the street snapped him back to reality as he was faced with a dozen angry drivers, some threatening to run him over. “Hey pinky, are you gonna let us cross or not?”

Koby began to wish some of the cars  _ would  _ run him over as the freshly emerged elementary schoolers began to shout at him from the sidewalk.

Koby didn’t have any more significant problems for a few days besides a car that nearly bumped into him and an elementary schooler that nearly missed their bus. He had gotten comfortable and bored once again; which was a terrible mistake on his part, though he couldn’t have known. 

“Hey! Pink Hair Guy, can we go now?” Koby looked up from the shade of the streetlamp he was positioned under to see a bright yellow straw hat across the street, it’s wearer absolutely bouncing in glee. Now that the man wasn’t running, Koby could see his wide eyed smile and the noticeable scar being pushed up by his smiling cheeks.  _ Cute,  _ he thought before he blinked and remembered he had a job he was supposed to be doing. “U-Uh yes! S-Stay there for a second, let me stop everyone!”

“Take your time, we can wait!”  _ Strange,  _ Koby thought,  _ considering there’s nobody standing with him.  _ Koby swiftly carried his sign out to the middle of the street, motioning for traffic to stop and holding his arm out to signal the straw hat man to cross. However, instead of crossing, the man began to… crouch? “S-Sir? What-”

A small squeak by his feet garnered his attention.

Looking down, he saw a small ball of yellow cotton fluff bounce past his toes. “Go on, it’s ok! He stopped the cars for us, it’s ok!” Snapping his head over to where the cooing was coming from, Koby’s heart swelled. The man was guiding a small group of ducklings across the street, waddling in a similar fashion to the birds on his knees and using his hands to gently nudge the babies across the crosswalk. However as quickly as Koby’s heart grew at the sight, it quickly sank as the sound of honking began to emanate from the cars instead of the ducks.

“Sir, I really do have to ask that you hurry it up-” Koby was quickly greeted by wide eyes locking on his as the man stood up, startling him and nearly causing him to fall on his ass.

“You can help! C’mon, help me grab some of them!” Koby watched in shock as the man placed a ball of fluff in Koby’s hand, the duckling happily squeaking in Koby’s grasp. “I-I-I- What?! I can’t-” He was abruptly interrupted by an elongated honk from a car, that of which scared some of the straggling ducks and caused them to bounce slightly faster towards Koby.  _ Forget it, I need to get back to the sidewalk anyway.  _ Lifting his sign above him like a surrender flag, Koby bent down and began to usher the ducklings back to the rest of their siblings. He didn’t know  _ why  _ he felt compelled to help this stranger, just that the sight of his scar being squished against his eye with an enormous smile was definitely worth the trouble. As the (rather upset) drivers resumed their commute, Koby set his sign against the streetlight and caught his breath as the strawhat man began counting the reunited ducklings. Koby nearly fell on his face as the man let out a startled yell.

“We’re missing one!!”

Koby’s heart nearly shot out of his chest before he heard a small squeak from his arm. Holding out his hand, the duckling that the man had placed into his palm let out an excited peep. “Oh, you kept him safe for me! Thank you!” The man quickly scooped the baby into his own palm, and the smile he offered to Koby made him melt. If his palm burned from where the man touched him, that was his own business. “I should bring ducks here more often, normally the other crossing guards yell at me.” 

That made Koby snap back to reality. “As they rightfully should, you could get hurt out there if you’re not careful, sir!” The man’s smile didn’t fade as he was scolded.

“Luffy.”

“What?”

“My name isn’t ‘Sir’, it’s Luffy. You should learn it since I’m going to be coming to see you more often.” Koby stared in silence before stammering. “I-I’m Koby.” Luffy giggled at his stuttering. “Well Koby, I’ll be seeing you tomorrow with more friends.” Before he could refute, the straw hat man,  _ Luffy,  _ had already run off with his fluffy entourage not far behind. Koby felt himself smile as he watched Luffy wrangle the ducklings in the distance.  _ He’s so charming, even though he causes problems. Certainly leaves an impression..  _ Feeling something sticky in his hand, Koby looked down in disgust.

Seems like the duck left something too.

During the next week, Koby was informed of complaints he received due to Luffy’s “stunts”. He dutifully informed his employers that he’d keep a better eye on traffic as well as keep pedestrians in order. However, he didn’t account for the fact that his pedestrians weren’t always human. Luffy held up his promise to the crossing guard, visiting him almost every other day to grace (although the way he carried himself was less than graceless) Koby with new “friends” every day.

One day Luffy leads a yet another group of cats across the street. The next he’s pulling along a crowd of dogs through a tangle of leashes. At some point, he’s even got a swarm of  _ pigs  _ of things, dragging them along the crosswalk.

“I’m watching them for Makino, but they got out of the gate and now Zoro has to help me!” Before Koby could point out how he knew none of those people, he was quickly silenced by three massive sticks clattering in his peripheral view. He turned and saw a head of green matted hair angrily trying to shove a pig across the road. “Oh, hey Zoro.” Koby recognized him from his history class, although it would be hard to forget him considering how much he starts shouting matches with professor Mihawk.

“You know Zoro?” Luffy questioned, bounding over to help Zoro with the stubborn hog. “I’ve never seen that kid in my life,” the swordsman said, not even looking at Koby while he shoved the pig across. Koby nearly lowered his sign as he began to correct Zoro but Luffy’s laughter made him snap back to attention. “If you know Zoro, we should hang out some time! We love inviting new members to our crew, right Zoro?”

“Stupid fucking pigs, why did your fucking mom have to live on a fucking farm-”

“He agrees! You should come to the Baratie after class tomorrow, my friend Sanji works there and he gives us free breadsticks sometimes!” Koby smiled, ignoring the blaring car horns that Zoro was managing to outscream. “Sure, I’ll be there around six.” 

Luffy smiled at him as he pulled the final pig onto the sidewalk. “Don’t be late! Zoro’s always late because he gets lost, even though Nami made him download a GPS on his phone!”

“I don’t  _ need  _ my fucking phone I can get there just fine-”

“Then why do you always show up an hour late anyway-”

Koby smiled as he made his way back to the sidewalk, not even minding the ample amounts of rude gestures being thrown at him from car windows as they passed.  _ I can’t believe I have a crush on that man, that sort of thing is for the kids I help cross for crying out loud…  _ However the warmth on his cheeks refused to cool, and he found himself excited for the next day.

When he arrived at the restaurant, he almost wanted to turn on his toe and run. Luffy’s table was clearly marked by raucous laughter and yelling, drawing the attention of almost all of the patrons. The sheer amount of plates in front of Luffy would be enough to scare off anyone who witnessed them. However the smile across Luffy’s face and his uncontrollable giggling helped Koby steel himself and march over to the table. 

Luffy’s eyes locked onto his and that scar of his curved onto his cheek with a warm smile. “Hu Kubuh! Wuh guh foo!” Seems like that smile was filled to the brim with food. The woman sitting beside Luffy smacked him across the head.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, and don’t fill your mouth with  _ my  _ food! Get your own, you little weasel!” Luffy simply swallowed his mouthful and patted the chair next to him with a laugh. “Come sit here Koby! I gotta introduce you!” Koby hesitantly sat down beside him, although his heart enthusiastically shot out of his chest as Luffy slung an arm around his shoulders. Koby could feel himself begin to fluster with how close Luffy was, but the way the woman sitting across the table fixed him with a scrutinizing gaze, he began to get nervous for different reasons. His thoughts were interrupted as a tall blonde man rounded the table with a serving cart. 

“Luffy, unless you’re gonna start paying for these I think I’m going to have to put a limit on these breadsticks.” Luffy pouted and pulled Koby closer ( _ even closer!  _ he mused). “Please? I brought a new friend, and he wants breadsticks too! Right Koby?” Koby blinked as he realized he was being asked a question. “U-Uh sure! I’d like some, please.”

The blonde sighed and pulled out a few baskets of bread, eliciting cheers from the table. “At least he has the manners to earn them,  _ Luffy. _ ” Luffy gawked at him through a mouthful of bread. “I have manners!” Koby giggled as he nibbled on his own piece. He was quickly put back on his toes again as the woman beside Luffy spoke up; Koby recognized her as the woman who had whacked Luffy’s skull earlier. Her bright orange hair surrounded her intimidating gaze.

“So, where did you and Luffy meet? Do you work with him?”

“I haven’t seen him around Luffy’s work, so he must not have any shifts with him,” chirped a young boy from beside him, staring Koby down with large doe eyes from under the brim of his hat.

“Actually, I have an art class with him.” Koby turned to see a man beside Luffy that he knew as Usopp. True to his words, Koby did recognize him from the class and waved shyly at him when Usopp smiled. “So you introduced him to Luffy then?” The woman nodded towards Usopp. 

“Nope,” Luffy grinned, “I picked him up off the street! He’s mine now, Nami! ” Nami gawked at Koby, whipping her fiery hair towards him. “HE’S HOMELESS?” Koby floundered and raised his hands in defense. “NO! N-No, I have an apartment-”

“Were you drunk?!”

“NO!!” Luffy giggled beside him, the arm on his shoulder shaking with the motion. “Sometimes Zoro gets drunk and walks off. One time we had to pull him out of the baby swings at the park because he thought he could fit!”

“I did not!”

The blonde had returned to the table and set a large plate in front of Koby with a snicker even though Koby distinctly remembered not ordering anything. “Yeah, you sure fucking did not fit in that swing,” he glanced at Koby with a flourish, “that’s on the house by the way, Luffy said he wouldn’t make you pay.” Koby hurriedly nodded at him as Zoro began having a yelling match with the waiter about having to pay for Koby’s meal himself.

“It’s nice of Sanji to feed you like that, especially since you’re new,” a suave voice said across the table as Koby picked at his meal. Luffy’s laughter shook Koby and reignited the small flames dancing across Koby’s cheeks. “Sanji loves feeding people! Especially friends!” the grin Luffy gave him sent Koby to the moon. “Of course, friends. How did you two become friends, exactly?” Koby redirected his stare to the voice across the table, meeting the eyes of the older woman with the same analyzing eyes as earlier locked onto him. Her smile was warm, yet mischievous. Like she planned to pick Koby apart from the inside.

“Koby helps me get friends across the street, Robin! Like Makino’s pigs and Ace’s cats!”

The mysterious woman, now known to Koby as Robin, laughed at Luffy’s statement. “Your older brother still has an affinity for cats, doesn’t he?” Luffy nodded energetically and whipped his head to look at Koby, brushing his cheek against Koby’s flaming red one. “My big brother  _ loves  _ cats, he fills our apartment with ‘em! You gotta meet Ace, he’s basically the neighborhood shelter at this point!”

Robin chuckled and fixed Koby with another sly grin. “What are you studying at the university, Koby?” Koby grinned and glanced over at Luffy, who was teeming with curiosity with his brightly lit eyes. 

“I’m actually studying law, I plan to join the police force and become a police chief! I believe justice is a noble thing to fight for, and I want to be a part of something that upholds it!” Koby looked over to Luffy, expecting to impress him and maybe change the topic onto something Koby was more comfortable with. However the smile Luffy had across his face seemed smaller than the others; the scar on his cheek like a bandaid covering a fake plastered grin. Robin’s sly grin faded to a small line, and Koby feared he said something terribly wrong. “I’m just a crossing guard right now though, so it’s going to take a while before… I uh…” Luffy’s grin was slowly fading into the dark. He immediately tried to change the subject in order to gain that smile back on Luffy’s face.

“S-So, Luffy, what do you do yourself? Do you go to the university?” Much to Koby’s relief, Luffy’s grin immediately widened and his eyes filled with excitement once again.

“Nope! I work at Kid’s Kingdom down the street from the elementary school!” Koby blinked in surprise. “The.. family restaurant? With the jungle gym and stuff?” Luffy nodded frantically. “Yeah! It’s cool to crawl around in all the inflatable stuff, and the kids like it when I do flips into the ballpit!” Koby smiled and nodded as he imagined Luffy interacting with kids. Based on how he acted with the ducklings when he first met Luffy, he could easily visualize him working with children. The warm feeling on his face settled itself in his heart, and he was almost embarrassed at himself for how mushy he was being. “It suits you, Luffy.”

Luffy laughed and pulled the arm slung around Koby’s shoulders tighter into him, strangling Koby in the process and causing the rest of the table to laugh as Usopp and Chopper attempted to unchain him from Luffy’s grip. As Koby fought for air, he saw Robin across the table give him a loving grin, the mischief leaving her eyes. Koby smiled back, knowing he’d made himself a home within Luffy’s crew.

After their trip to the Baratie, Luffy and his friends became a more common occurrence in Koby’s life. Zoro began to actually acknowledge Koby during class. Nami apparently was the lead supplier of oranges at Koby’s local farmer’s market (and the priciest one, too. Koby learned that the hard way after she pressured him to buy $20 on purely orange pastries.) Usopp talked to Koby during class and invited him to work on a class project in his workshop, which was shared and primarily owned by another one of Luffy’s friends, Franky. It was surprising to see Robin there periodically as well, although the surprise immediately turned into embarrassment as he saw just how disgustingly romantic she was with Franky.

Luffy was almost never the same every day, however constant he may be in Koby’s life. Not only did he bring more animals to usher across the street Koby was positioned on, he eventually stood with Koby on his shifts to keep him company. Normally Koby would get annoyed or even exasperated with the sheer amount of talking Luffy did within a day, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Not when that scar on his cheek curved against his face just so when Luffy smiled at him. Koby nearly screamed into his pillow that night when he began to have thoughts of kissing it.

It wasn’t just Luffy’s smile, or his charming affinity for animals, or his  _ endless  _ rambling that made Koby’s little crush grow over time. Luffy began bringing gifts to Koby as well, both big and small. 

The first time it happened, Luffy had ran into the middle of the street where Koby was standing to show him pictures of his brother’s newest kitten. Koby, although grateful that Luffy wanted to share his personal life with him, was less than thrilled to drag Luffy back to the sidewalk and explain to him that he needed to wait until Koby came back, and even less happy to hear the elementary schoolers Koby guided across poking fun at him and his “weird hat friend”. The second time, Koby almost regretted telling Luffy to stay put as he endured uncontrollable laughter from the schoolkids as Luffy yelled a detailed description of a snail he had found that looked like Sanji’s eyebrow.

Although the gifts were sporadic and at times very random, Koby was happy to receive them nonetheless. Pet rocks, homemade necklaces, and sometimes even snacks made their way into Koby’s hands, even though most of the snacks were half or even almost completely eaten. One day however, Koby was caught off guard to see Luffy in bright primary colors, donning a bright name tag attached to his straw hat’s ribbon that bounced as he ran. He was even more surprised to see Luffy carrying what looked like a massive spear on his shoulders. He quickly held out his arms in front of the road for Luffy to slow down before running into the street.

“Luffy, stop running! You can’t run across the street, much less with that on you! What are you planning to do, vault across the street?” Luffy skidded to a halt in front of Koby, sporting a tilted grin like he thought Koby was crazy. “What? No, I’m not gonna vault over the street, stupid! I was actually planning on dropping this here for you!”

He lowered the spear-like object onto the ground and Koby watched as Luffy unfolded it into a lawn chair. It was a ratty chair, but a chair nonetheless. “I found one in the closet for you, and since Ace brought a beanbag onto the balcony I figured we don’t need it anymore! Sabo did say it might rain on the beanbag though and then grow mold so maybe I’ll have to take it back later- but it’s ok because you have a chair now!”

Koby stared at the flimsy chair in front of him and felt blush rising to his cheeks. “Thank you luffy, but I’m not an elderly person, I can stand on my own y’know.” Luffy waved his hand at him and gave him an exaggerated sigh, “yeah, but you stand out here so looong, and it gets hot sometimes- I mean  _ I  _ wouldn’t even stand out here that long, it’s so hot Koby. Plus you wear that silly jacket, so it’s gotta be even hotter.” Although he was touched, Koby immediately rebuked, “My jacket isn’t silly-!”

Luffy suddenly looked like he was struck by a terrible realization. “Oh no! I’m gonna be late for work!” He paused his sudden panic to point at his hat, making Koby look at the name tag. “See? It’s my uniform for the job!” Koby flipped down his glasses from his forehead and looked at the plastic affixed to the straw hat.

“Your name tag says ‘Meatloaf’.”

“Yeah!”

“That’s...not your name”

“Yeah. The manager hates it when I change it.”

Koby stared at him for a second before shaking his head and laughing, “Ok, well you should head to work, Meatloaf.” Luffy gave him a final grin before saluting and running down the sidewalk towards his workplace. Koby watched his silhouette disappear as he settled into his newest present, the fabric of the chair sinking into his sides and cradling the love he had for that man.

“Have you gotten him anything back?”

Koby looked up from his textbook, halfway through the lunch Luffy had dropped off earlier. Koby had been grateful (and surprised) as Luffy handed him half of a sandwich he’d saved for Koby.  _ “So you don’t starve on the job!”  _ he’d said.

“Why would I give him the sandwich back, he gave it to me.” Helmeppo, his roommate, sighed at him and shook his head. “Not  _ given  _ anything back,  _ gotten  _ him anything. He’s been giving you shit for like what, a month? Have you brought him anything in return?” Koby sat for a second, not saying anything as he considered the question.

“Well, I gave him my number.. I mean he had asked for it when we went out to eat, but I technically gave it to him.” Koby slowly took another bite- and then proceeded to spit it all over Helmeppo as the implications of Helmeppo’s query were realized. “Oh my God, I’ve just been leeching off of him! I’m a terrible person!”

Helmeppo scraped pieces of sandwich off of his face as he fixed Koby with a bored glare. “Yeah, a little bit.” Koby gave him an apologetic smile as he passed him a napkin. “Sorry, it’s just that- I’ve just been taking stuff from him almost every day, Helmeppo, sometimes I even yell at him when he gets too rowdy near the street- I don’t want to just steal things from him and scold him for it, he means so much to me! ”

“You’ve known him for like two months-”

“And they’ve been the most exciting two months of my life, ever since I decided I wanted to become a police chief! Helmeppo you don’t understand-”

“Don’t talk about that scar-”

“His scar, Helmeppo, when he smiles it’s so cute- it’s like a little moon and his eyes are like stars-” Helmeppo made an exaggerated gagging noise, and Koby pinned a glare on him. “You don’t have to understand, Helmeppo, but you could at least support me.”

“Like I’d support a man who doesn’t even reciprocate gifts to his precious little moon-scar-faced boyfriend.”

“He’s not-” Koby started, and then immediately faltered, “... he’s not my boyfriend.”

Koby glanced up as a firm hand on his shoulder grounded him. “That’s why you gotta put effort in, Koby! He’s not just going to fall into your hands, Koby, you gotta put effort in! And y’know, probably reciprocate all this shit he’s dumping on you.” Koby froze a moment before nodding, determination settling within his bones. “Right! I’ll do my best to be the best person I can be for him, starting now!”

“You still have a test in Forensics we need to study for-”

“Starting in an hour!” Koby quickly finished his food before slamming his textbook on the table and filling out his notes in record speed. If Helmeppo saw him scribbling moon shaped lines in the margins, he didn’t say anything.

“You look smug today, did you kick one of those elementary schooler’s asses?” Koby let out a small sigh as he sat with Luffy under the telephone pole beside the crosswalk. “No, Luffy, they’re like 10.”

“Yeah, but some of those kids are assholes! Like the ones at my job that don’t take off their shoes before getting on the playground and then I gotta spend an hour scrubbing off all the scuff marks from the walls. I have to do that enough at home…” When Koby gave him a questioning glance, Luffy smiled and elaborated, “Me and Ace watched parkour videos and tried to do wall jumps in the hallway. Sabo got really mad, but not before he tried to do it too.” Koby let out a loud, unrestrained laugh at that. Luffy’s family was just as crazy as his friends, it seemed. He shook his head with a final giggle and looked at Luffy.

“I was actually kind of happy today because I wanted to spend time with you.” Luffy gave him a warm grin, searing Koby’s heart from the inside. “I spend time with you every day though, unless,” Luffy faltered, “unless this is the first time you’ve actually wanted to see me?”

Koby immediately jumped from his seat and floundered for defense. “NO! No, I always want to see you! You’re like the highlight of my day, Luffy!”

Luffy gave a bark of laughter at Koby’s antics before patting Koby’s knee from where he was sitting. “I know, I was just kidding! It’s nice to hear you say it though, even if it’s mushy.” Luffy threw Koby a wink at the sentiment and Koby felt it pierce his soul. This man would be the absolute death of him. Koby sat back in his chair and placed a hand on his knee where Luffy had patted him. “I-I-I’m glad. B-But I like I was saying I-” Koby regained his determination as he squeezed his knee and looked Luffy in the eye, “-I was actually wondering if you’d like to go out with me sometime!”

Luffy blinked at him for a moment, expression unreadable. “We are out, though.” Koby’s expression faltered to match the one Luffy adorned. “Did you want to go inside?” Luffy blinked again before giggling violently into his knees where he was crouched. “I know what you meant the first time, stupid. You’re so gullible, Koby.” Koby flustered at Luffy’s giggling.

The death of him, the absolute  _ death  _ that this man will inflict on Koby’s heart.

Luffy’s smile grew even wider as he took out a pen and positioned his arm in front of him. “When did you want to go? We can go to the Baratie again,” his eyes sparkled with hunger and mischief, “I’m sure Sanji will give us more free breadsticks.” Koby laughed at Luffy’s insatiable hunger. “Well, I think the school’s closing for bad weather on Friday, which means I won’t have to come to work. We can go in the morning, if you want! I can drive us so you don’t have to walk in the rain.” Luffy quickly scribbled on his arm, nodding in agreement. “I can ask Sanji to save us a table, even though he already saves us one when we go there.”

Koby grimaced. “You mean the one next to the bathrooms?” Luffy considered Koby’s concern and quickly added more scribbles onto his forearm. “I’ll ask him for a balcony table.” Koby thanked him with a laugh and slipped his phone from out of his pocket. “Do you need the pen?” Koby shook his head and tilted his phone screen towards Luffy. “No, I don’t need to write it down, I have a calendar app on my phone.”

“I’m not writing down the date.” Koby blinked and leaned back in his chair to grab Luffy’s wrist and tilt his arm. A poorly drawn beetle was scrawled across Luffy’s skin in hastily placed ink. Koby’s eyes shifted back and forth between Luffy’s eyes and the pen on his arm as Luffy’s grin grew steadily wider across his face, slowly squeezing that cute scar against his face.

“How did you get that scar, the one on your cheek?” Luffy poked the curved scar outlining his smile, giggling as his cheek squished against his finger. “I stabbed myself in the face when I was like five. To prove I was brave.”  _ That sounds exactly like something he’d do, huh.  _ “You always rush into things without thinking first, huh?”

“What’s the point of living life if you think about it too much?” Without any control over his body, Koby pulled Luffy’s wrist towards him to ghost his lips across the scar, smearing the ink on Luffy’s wrist in the process. Both men were frozen by the action before Luffy’s gleaming smile shot across his face like a blazing fire.

“Seems like you don’t think about things too much either, Koby.” 

Koby didn’t watch Luffy’s silhouette fade in the distance as he returned home, to busy focusing his eyes on the ground below him as the blood in his face boiled and he smeared the transferred ink from Luffy’s wrist between his sweaty palms. This was going to be the best day of his life.

As the rain beat down on Koby’s dead car battery, the day proved to be the worst in Koby’s life. The school district decided that they would reconsider cancelling school for the day, leaving Koby standing in the pouring rain, the water slapping against his safety vest and sign. The echoing of the water hitting the metal rang in his ears as he thought about how he’d cover the cost of a mechanic to fix his car, which broke down halfway to Koby’s post at the crosswalk. He barely had enough time to message Luffy that he couldn’t make it to the Baratie before his phone died in his hand, the rain washing down the screen and giving his reflection artificial tears. Even though the school had been reopened, the weather was still harsh on Koby, who was forced to stand outside since he couldn’t move his car to the telephone pole.

The worst part about the day was the cake.

He had considered Helmeppo’s suggestion to give Luffy a gift, and after careful thought he decided he’d bake Luffy a cake. It was something Koby could make for Luffy himself, and most importantly, it was food; he knew as long as it was edible Luffy would absolutely adore him for it.

However the edible aspect of the cake quickly turned out to be difficult to achieve as Koby’s endless attempts during the night proved, and as the night grew into early morning Koby was running out of hope. Rain trailed down Koby’s eyebags as he held up his sign for the barely visible cars, the headlights illuminating the shame on his face. He’d only been able to salvage a few pieces from the dozens of attempts made the previous night, and the way the container was shoved into his jacket, he wasn’t even certain that they’d survive the next few minutes.

It was laughable really, how fast the entire day had gone to shit. As he motioned for the shaky silhouette across the street to cross with a drenched arm, he shook his head and attempted to let the cold rain steel him. It’d be ok, he can just talk to Luffy tomorrow and apologize for making him pay for a table- oh God, he’d made him pay for it hadn’t he- Sanji had to have been impatient with the food, what if Luffy had gotten scolded-

Suddenly, the cold rain was no longer freezing his nerves. Looking to his side, his eyes locked onto a bright gaze, underlined by a scar that was pressing against the stars in those eyes.

“You should get back to the sidewalk, it’s slippery out here.” Luffy motioned to the concrete with a battered umbrella in his hand, covering Koby’s sopping pink hair. Without waiting for a response, he settled his hand around Koby’s waist and gently ushered him towards the sidewalk, walking behind him and letting out quiet coos of happiness.

Koby remembered a bright straw hat crouched on the ground, guiding a family of ducklings with the same gentle voice he used now.

As soon as he reached the grey concrete he swiveled and immediately unzipped his jacket, much to Luffy’s surprise. “Koby-”

“I’m sorry!” Koby interrupted, thrusting the damp container towards Luffy, the pieces of cake inside turned into a pile of mush from how they’d been crushed against Koby’s chest. “I didn’t know that they’d recall the cancellation last minute and-and my phone died when I tried to let you know because it got too wet when I was looking at my  _ car,  _ and- and you had to pay for the table because I didn’t even think about paying for it myself beforehand-”

Chapped lips pressed against his, silencing him.

Luffy clutched the cake to his chest as he kissed Koby; the umbrella tilting in his grip let a few drops hit their heads, but Koby couldn’t find it in himself to care about the taste of rain mixing with Luffy’s flavor. Luffy pulled back all too fast for Koby’s tastes, and Koby found himself leaning back in to press another fleeting kiss to Luffy’s soft smile.

“Thank you for this Koby, thank you so much.” Koby felt the cold metal being pressed into his hand rather than seeing it, refusing to remove his eyes from where they bore into Luffy’s own. “Here, you can take this. My apartment isn’t far from here, I can make it.” Koby blinked before he quickly attempted to push the umbrella back into his hands, opening his mouth to argue that Luffy needed it more than him. Luffy quickly quelled any further refusal from him with a quick peck to his lips, and his hand wrapping around Koby’s to hold the umbrella tight. “ _ I can make it.  _ I promise.” 

Koby reluctantly gripped the umbrella and nodded, making a silent promise to Luffy himself that he’d take care of his umbrella. 

“Thank you, I’m grateful for this.” Luffy let out a soft laugh that sounded like heaven to Koby’s ears, “what, the umbrella?” Koby shook his head and leaned forward to steal a kiss of his own, the rain battering Luffy’s face tickling his lips.

“No, I’m grateful for you.” Luffy’s grin turned into an incredulous look before he barked out the loudest laughter Koby had ever heard. “You’re so cheesy Koby! So gross!!” Koby spluttered before kicking the water at his feet at Luffy, who cackled even louder at the attack. “You were the one that brought me an umbrella in the rain! And  _ kissed  _ me!!”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t being a nerd about it!” Koby attempted to kick another wave of water at Luffy, but his shoe slipped in the water and he proceeded to fall on the concrete and eat shit, the umbrella held up like a beacon. Luffy was absolutely  _ screaming  _ in laughter as he pulled Koby up and watched rainwater drizzle down his pants like a fountain, but Koby couldn’t find it in himself to care as he wrapped his soaked jacket arms around Luffy’s neck and pressed kiss after kiss to the moon on Luffy’s cheek.

The dates preceding the storm went smoothly, to say the least. To say the most, Koby would have to describe them as the most perfect days he had ever experienced. Luffy had enthusiastically eaten the cake Koby had baked for him upon turning home, finding Sabo walking in and discovering his drenched brother appearing to be eating a pile of frosted mush. He informed Koby that he loved the cake so much that he wanted to bake another one together, that way they could both eat it and enjoy something they made together.

Unfortunately, Koby’s complete lack of baking experience combined with Luffy’s… also complete lack of experience eventually led them to calling Sanji over to help while they fanned smoke out of the windows. Koby saw it as an absolute victory though, seeing the smile on Luffy’s face as he leaned out the window of Koby’s apartment while Sanji lectured him for putting a lump of batter in the oven with no pan.

Koby also finally got a glance at Luffy’s workplace, since he had almost never been into the Kid’s Kingdom restaurant. He never had a reason to go, what with no kids or young friends, and the entire place smelled of feet and stale pizza both inside and out. However, watching Luffy cartwheel all over the parking lot and show Koby how far he could cram himself into the playground when it was closed, he could definitely see himself visiting more often. After hours of course, he thought as Luffy pulled him into the ballpit; he could definitely not see himself doing this with a swarm of kids in the way. He definitely couldn’t see himself kissing Luffy under the parking lot lights at midnight with kids in the way.

Him and Luffy began to go almost everywhere together save the university and Luffy’s apartment (Luffy had explained that his brothers would be hounding them all night, which wasn’t fair since Sabo apparently brought his girlfriend over often without problem. Koby noted that Luffy’s brothers were apparently very protective over him. How endearing.) Unfortunately due to the lack of visits to Luffy’s apartment, Helmeppo had to bear with walking in to a jarringly empty fridge and Luffy curled up with his roommate on their couch sometimes. “Why don’t you take him out for a picnic or something, y’know. Or, literally anywhere else that keeps our fridge full.” Koby gave a shy apology as Helmeppo scavenged among the remains that Luffy had left in his fridge.

“I was actually planning on taking him out some time to celebrate!”

“What, did you finally stop acting like a blushing idiot and take him to bed?” Koby’s eyes nearly shot out of his hands and he slapped his palms on the table as he screamed in shock. “HELMEPPO.”

“Sorry, sorry! I’m just kidding, dipshit,” Helmeppo laughed, forgoing his search for food and shutting the fridge in defeat. Koby resettled himself with an indignant huff and straightened out the papers in front of him. He smiled in absolute glee as he looked down at the forms surrounding him. “I’m planning to tell him that I’m going to be applying for the police force! Since I’m so close to graduating, I figure I’d apply now!” Koby picked up one of the forms he had filled out, his eyes gleaming with joy, “I’m going to be a police officer, Helmeppo. I’ve been dreaming of this for years.” 

“ _ We’re  _ going to be police officers, Koby. We’re doing this together.”

“Yeah,” Koby whispered, thinking of Luffy’s bright smile and the feeling of his lips pressed against his, “we are.”

“Are you mentally replacing me with your boyfriend again.”

“NO.”

“Yeah you were, you’re thinking about him smiling and shit instead of us going to the same university for like 4 years-”

“I’m calling Luffy for a picnic, fuck off and finish your applications, Helmeppo.”

Koby had carefully set up the last of the food on the blanket, carefully adjusting the edges of the quilt on the grass. He wanted to take all of the food out first, that way he could see Luffy’s face when he arrives to discover an entire meal spread out with his boyfriend. Koby smiled as he adjusted the wine glasses he brought. 

_ God, Luffy was right, I am cheesy. _

As soon as his name appeared in his head, a silhouette spread across the blanket and Koby looked up to see a bright smile under a wide brim of a straw hat. Before Koby could say hello, he was immediately tackled by his boyfriend and muffled by kisses being peppered across his face. “You got me  _ FOOD!! _ ” Koby laughed as he pressed a delicate kiss to Luffy’s scar. “That’s the point of a  _ picnic,  _ silly.”

“Yeah, but-” Luffy already had half the food in his mouth, “-you still brought it all for me!” Koby chuckled as Luffy was gracious enough to push a strawberry into his mouth, even though he had downed the other 90% of the fruit bowl.

As the evening faded into sunset, the amount of food dwindled and Luffy had finally run out of blueberries to trickshot into his mouth. Koby leaned onto Luffy’s shoulder, nuzzling his face into his neck as he set down his empty wine glass. “This was really fun, Luffy.” Luffy leaned his head onto Koby’s as Koby pressed a wine flavored kiss into his neck.

“Yeah, we should do this again some time.” Koby’s stomach fluttered with butterflies as he built up his nervous excitement. “I actually wanted to bring you here with me to celebrate,” he grinned, sitting up to look Luffy in the eye and grasp his hands within his own. Luffy intertwined their fingers and gave him a toothy smile from under his hat. “Oh? Is it our five month anniversary or something?” Koby shook his head and giggled at Luffy’s guess, “no, that’s not for another few weeks- whatever, that’s not the point....”

Koby brought Luffy’s fingers up to his and pressed short kisses to each one before meeting Luffy’s star-riddled eyes.

“I applied to the police force! Luffy, I’m going to be a police officer!”

It was one thing to watch the stars in Luffy’s eyes go out one by one. It was another to watch his smile crumble into a frown, a disgusted one at that. But it broke Koby, absolutely  _ shattered  _ him as words came out of Luffy’s mouth to match his expression.

“Can’t you do anything else?”

Koby was frozen in place. His mouth couldn’t close, and his hands were in a stone grip around Luffy’s. What? He hadn’t heard him right, this was wrong, he shouldn’t have drunk so much wine-

“What?”

“Something  _ else,  _ Koby. Why’d you have to choose the police, of all things…” Koby’s hands were shaking now, and Luffy’s hands were slipping out from his fingers.

“You-I had told you at the Baratie-”

“I thought it was just some dream, Koby. I didn’t think you were serious.” His heart finally cracked.

“What the hell do you mean,  _ just some dream?  _ What the fuck does that mean, Luffy? This  _ IS  _ my dream, I’ve been working for this for  _ years  _ Luffy! That’s the entire reason I went to the university-” Luffy pulled his hands from his.

“Look I thought- I don’t know what the hell I thought, Koby, but I thought you’d stay with me-”

“I  _ am  _ staying with you-”

“ _ No,  _ you’re  _ not! _ ”

Koby didn’t even notice the sound of his tears hitting the blanket. Maybe the fabric muffled it. Maybe Luffy’s yelling did.

“I don’t want to live with that Koby, I don’t want to have to put up with that ‘justice’ shit everywhere I go, Koby. I should know, Koby, my grandfather’s part of ‘essential law enforcement’, or whatever the hell he calls it, and all he does is beat the shit out of people and yell at Ace for no goddamn reason. Do you know how hard I worked to get out of that house, Koby?”

Koby cried in silence.

“I busted my ass to leave! Ace busted his ass to leave! Hell,  _ Sabo  _ busted his ass to leave, Koby! I don’t want to live with someone who hurts people and calls it justice!” Koby pulled at his hands as a last resort.

“I didn’t know! Please Luffy, I wouldn’t do this to you, I didn’t know!”

Luffy yanked his hands from Koby’s grip.

“Well, now you do.”

Koby didn’t watch him walk away, didn’t watch the brim of his hat fade in the distance like every other time he was with Luffy. Out of all the times he had been with him, out of all the instances where Luffy had trailed animals behind him on the road with a smile, the times where he ran out to the middle of the street to greet Koby, to talk to him, to shower him with kisses; Koby had never had the thought he did as he sat on an empty quilt with a broken wine glass and his tears.

_ I hope he gets hit by a car. _

Koby didn’t have a dream anymore, he decided. He submitted those applications because he  _ had  _ to. He didn’t wake up and run at 3am for a stupid dream, he didn’t stand alone at a telephone pole for 7 hours for a stupid dream, he did it because he  _ had to, absolutely forced to.  _ If Luffy was so insistent that his dream was so fucking laughable, he’d wouldn’t do it for a dream anymore. He’d do it because it was necessary.

Necessary to prove Luffy wrong.

To be a rival to him.

Helmeppo began to check on him more frequently; more worriedly. “Nobody stays out running for two hours straight, you need to slow down.” Koby had vomited in the shower that night, but it didn’t matter.  _ I have to do it,  _ he told Helmeppo,  _ I have to. _

And surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard at first. It was easy to block out everyone else, to do his job, to keep track of any emails from the police precinct giving him any updates. Sure, it was difficult to stop his instinctual nods at Zoro during history, or his walks with Usopp, and it was so hard to stomach the emotionless looks from Robin as he passed the mechanics. It was doable though, and he made it through because he had to.

It was over once they started turning up, though.

The first one that Koby found was the chair. It was inevitable, really, since he had resigned from his position as a crossing guard. He had saved up enough money to sustain himself until he got word from the police precinct, so he had finally turned in all the equipment and resigned. However, it meant that Koby had to take home the chair that Luffy had given him. He didn’t know if he should attempt to return it, but he figured that if Luffy let him keep it this long it probably belongs to him now.  _ I probably need to throw it out, anyway,  _ he thought, dragging it into his apartment’s coat closet. However seeing it all folded up, haphazardly thrown against the wall of the closet left the tiniest weight in his heart. He quickly shook it off and went to go for his nightly run, but he couldn’t stop thinking about it for some reason. It was like a spear when it was folded up like that.

His thoughts didn’t clear up any more as more gifts started to appear around his house, plaguing Koby’s mind and his heart. He’d open his dresser to find a rock Luffy had painted for him, or find a cheap beaded necklace Luffy had put together for him in his nightstand. No matter how many rocks he threw outside, or how many necklaces he threw away, the weight they left on his heart never lifted. Throwing away the little bracelet that read “Meatloaf” on it carried even more weight than the rest of the items, in fact.

The breaking point though; the breaking point laid in the corner of Koby’s room.

He had come back from his nightly run, the sky outside beginning to drop tiny specks of rain onto koby’s nose. He didn’t know how much longer he could take without word from the precinct, it had been weeks. He flopped on his bed, heaving. He had run for so long, and he had barely stopped on the way.  _ What if it was all for nothing? _

He curled onto his side, his breathing becoming faster.

_ What if they ignored me? What if I got rejected and they didn’t tell me- what if they’re GOING to tell me? Do I even have a backup plan if I get rejected? Do I even have anyone to lean on if I’m alone after this? After Helmeppo gets in and I don’t? Oh my God, what if this is just some stupid dream-  _

A clatter across the room made Koby snap up, gasping for air. 

There, lying in the corner of his room, was the umbrella. The umbrella that Luffy gave him, that Luffy kissed him under, that Luffy loved him under. Koby felt the weight in his heart give away as he stood and grabbed the umbrella from where it lay on the ground.

Even when Luffy was in danger, even when Luffy was doing the stupidest things, he still helped others. Whether it be ducks, or cats, or pigs, or Koby, pathetic as he was, Luffy felt the need to be there for others. Maybe that was his own stupid dream, his own need. And maybe, if Koby wanted to achieve his own stupid dream-

He clutched the umbrella in his hands, shaking the feeling from his heart.

No. He was going to do this himself. It wasn’t a dream anymore, it was a need, it was his own need. His own need he was going to fulfill without Luffy. He turned the umbrella over in his hands, his eyes filling with fire. He needed Luffy out of his life permanently, and he was going to extinguish his connection from the source.

He quickly slipped on his shoes and sprinted out the door with the umbrella in hand. It didn’t matter that he was still winded from his previous run, his previous panic. He needed to do this  _ now.  _ However, as soon as he stepped out the door of the apartment complex, the weather made itself known through a raging storm that drenched Koby and chilled him to the bone. He instinctively began to open the umbrella before he stopped.

_ No,  _ he thought, sprinting into the chilling winds towards Luffy’s apartment,  _ I don’t need his help.  _ The wind blew his hair back, nearly making him slip.  _ I can do this on my own.  _ The rain picked up, coming down on Koby like bullets.  _ I never needed your love.  _ The rain turned to hail.  _ I never needed your gifts.  _ Koby’s glasses were knocked off of his face, and Koby ignored the distant sound of shattering glass.  _ I never needed your laughter.  _ Koby could spot the lights of the apartment complex in the distance, a beacon within the storm.  _ I never needed your friends.  _ He flung open the entrance door, forgoing the elevator and launching himself into the stairwell with burning pain in his lungs and freezing cold biting his skin.  _ I never needed your smile.  _ He pounded on the door, flinging water from his arm back into his face and feeling it sting against the warm blood trying to reach his brain.  _ I never needed that- _

A pair of bright eyes appeared at the door, filled with countless stars. Stars that Koby hadn’t seen for a while, too submerged in the dark to ever be able to spot them, and underlining the starry night sky was a perfect moon, pressed against Luffy’s cheek.

Koby felt the tears streaming down his face before he could stop them.

“Koby? What-” Koby pressed the umbrella into Luffy’s hands, the handle covered in his shining tears. “I’m so sorry Luffy, I’m so sorry that I never considered your feelings and that I never came back to talk to you afterwards, I’m sorry that I threw our whole relationship away without even thinking about repairing it, I’m so sorry Luffy, I even threw away the chair-”

He was quickly silenced as Luffy pulled him into a kiss, deep and warm, trying to fit in every apology between them. Koby felt tears that weren’t his running between them, and recognized the taste of rainwater mixed with Luffy’s own flavor. He pressed in deeper, cradling Luffy’s face in his hands and tilting his head to fit against him like a puzzle piece. His thumb gently stroked the tears falling across Luffy’s scar.

Luffy broke the kiss and panted against Koby’s lips, never breaking the contact. “Koby, don’t apologize. I was the one that didn’t- that didn’t say anything about how I felt.”

Koby pressed a quick kiss to Luffy’s lips, faintly tasting of salt and rainwater. “You showed it when we first went out-”

“I didn’t  _ say  _ anything though, Koby. I- I lead you on for so long-” Luffy leaned back, his arms still encircling Koby’s neck as he looked into his eyes. As Koby searched deep within those stars, he found the same weight that he’d been carrying since Luffy left him. A small smile graced Luffy’s lips as he pressed a kiss to Koby’s fingers, still holding the umbrella. “C’mon,” he whispered, pulling him into the apartment, “it’s cold out here.” He closed the door behind them as he pulled Koby towards a bathroom. “I gotta tell you about Garp.”

He let Luffy pull him into the shower in silence, leaning his head against Luffy’s shoulder as the warm spray of water hit them. It was nearly the exact opposite of when Luffy first kissed him; the warmth of the shower and the insistent kisses Luffy pressed against his mouth heavily contrasted the fleeting brush of lips under the cold rain that day. It heavily contrasted the rain from earlier, too. As he wrapped his arms around Luffy’s waist, he hoped he’d never have to feel that cold again.

Wrapped in a towel and handfuls of kisses that Luffy couldn’t resist giving him, Koby was dragged to Luffy’s bedroom and quickly dressed in spare clothes Luffy had. He let out a huff of laughter as he realized his arms barely filled out the sleeves of the sweater Luffy had given him.  _ To think I had called him lanky when I first saw him.  _ Luffy pulled him by the sleeves onto his bed, pressing a kiss to his head as he curled up on the sheets. Luffy remained sitting on the edge of the bed, turned towards Koby as he fiddled with Koby’s hair.

“I’m sorry I never told you that I hated police officers.” Koby pressed a kiss to Luffy’s knuckles as they ran through his bangs, “don’t be, it’s a weird topic to bring up-”

“You mentioned it at the Baratie, I should’ve explained then.” Before Koby could refute Luffy’s fingers pressed to his mouth, silencing him. “I don’t know if it’s all of them, or the whole system, or…” Luffy paused, shifting where he sat on the bed. Koby watched his face contort into a painful expression. “My grandfather was… not the nicest person. He was actually… pretty terrible. He hit me a lot when I fucked up, and it was kinda funny to Ace and Sabo at first, but he started punching me a lot more and- and then he started yelling at Ace sometimes, and he’d hit all of us-” Koby grasped Luffy’s hand tightly and listened to him in horror. “It doesn’t really matter now, none of us really realized what he was doing was wrong we just thought- whatever, our mom took us in and we lived Dadan for a little bit. Ace got us enough money to move into this apartment, and since Sabo helps Koala with her karate lessons we still have enough money. I just-”

Koby stopped him from rambling with a gentle kiss, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. “I’m so sorry Luffy, If I’d had known…”

“You couldn’t have, I didn’t tell you since I was a dumbass.”

“I don’t blame you for not talking about it Luffy, your grandfather, he…” Koby stroked Luffy’s hair as he held him, able to run his fingers through the black waves without the hat in the way. “I can unsubmit the forms, if you want. To become a police officer, I mean.”

Luffy immediately snapped his head back and stared at Koby like he was insane. “What, no! Are you kidding me, that’s your dream!” Koby blinked at him before attempting to lean back into his shoulder with a laugh. “Luffy, it’s fine. I don’t want you to be reminded of your grandfather-” Luffy pushed him by his shoulders and launched Koby onto his back as he crawled to grasp his shoulders. “You  _ aren’t  _ my grandfather though, Koby! I  _ want  _ you to live your dream, I always have! I just didn’t want you to have a mindset like grandpa Garp, where everything has to be done for justice instead of what’s right- but I know you’re not like that! I know you’ll never  _ be  _ like that, I’ve known it ever since you helped me walk those ducklings across the street, Koby. I love you! You’re never going to remind me of bad things like that, you’re like all the good things in my life! Like all the cakes you made me, and those ducks, and the moon-”

Koby clutched Luffy’s shirt in his fists and pulled him down so they were nose to nose. “I REMIND YOU OF THE MOON?” Luffy laughed against Koby’s face, sharing the warmth on his cheeks with Koby’s own flushed face. “Of course! You always mutter about how my scar looks like the moon whenever-”

Koby pulled Luffy’s lips down to crash against his, smiling against Luffy’s grin. How he thought he could live without this hours before, he didn’t know. What he knew was that he wanted to live his dream with Luffy, no matter how hard he had to work, no matter how long he had to push, no matter-

“What the  _ fuck?!” _

No matter if Luffy’s older brother walked in to see Koby caged under Luffy’s arms as they passionately kissed.

“Sir, are you aware that you’re going under the speed limit?”

“Is there even a speed limit for horses? Can you ticket people for that?” Koby gazed up at his boyfriend from under the brim of his uniform cap. “Hm, I’m not sure on that one, but I can give you a pass as long as you ride near the sidewalk.” Luffy giggled from atop his place on the horse as he swung a leg over to lean down. “You’re the coolest traffic cop I’ve ever met!” Koby chuckled as he pressed a kiss to Luffy’s wide smile. “I’m glad you think so, Meatloaf,” Koby mused, patting the horse Luffy was settled on. “So, where… exactly did you get this, uh…” Luffy patted the horse’s mane as he resettled himself on the saddle. “It’s a lady! Her name’s Marmalade, she belongs to my foster mom Makino! I’m supposed to be taking her home right now, wanna help me?” Koby shook his head and gave the horse one final pat. “Sorry Lu, but I can’t be slacking off if I want to become a chief one day. However,” his eyes gleamed as they met Luffy’s, “I can help you two get across the street. I know someone who’s very experienced with crossing streets.”

The grin on Luffy’s face squished his scar against his eye so much Koby almost couldn’t see it anymore. Koby smiled into Luffy’s starlit eyes and pressed his lips against the hidden scar.

It was his very own lunar eclipse.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I literally only did this for my friend because we both thought Kolu was cute and there’s only like 7 fics in the tag, but I’m honestly extremely proud of both what I wrote and how much I wrote lol
> 
> Comments and Reviews are appreciated!


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